variants
also ascetical
as in monastic
formal
relating to or having a strict and simple way of living that avoids physical pleasure
He committed to having an ascetic existence during his rehab. an ascetic diet of rice and beans
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Dissimilar Words
as in prude
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ascetic
Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
Wells was as quiet as White was loud, as eccentric as White was flamboyant, as ascetic as White was sensual.
—Henry Wiencek
july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ascetic
Adjective
Other spaces — like the fourth floor, where more difficult patients are kept and Max is instructed to avoid — are cold and ascetic.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
Wells was as quiet as White was loud, as eccentric as White was flamboyant, as ascetic as White was sensual.
—Henry Wiencek
july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
Noun
With a few edits, the book could pass for an anarchist tract; with a few more, for the work of a Christian ascetic.
—Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ascetic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ascetic
Adjective
-
Delas Francois de Tournon is named for the monastic order of Jesuits who resided in this area in the 17th century.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
23 Oct. 2025
-
With a frill-less monastic setting, this institution has several London locations, but Smithfield is the OG, serving signature dishes like roasted bone marrow and oven-hot madeleines available by the dozen and half dozen.—
Nicole Trilivas,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In fact, the prudes among us might need hand fans.—
Sandra Gonzalez,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Give the Original ‘Twister’ a Spin Barbara Peeters is no prude.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
19 July 2024
Adjective
-
Led by a far-right authoritarian government, the country has nevertheless encouraged rooftop and utility-scale solar through a mix of government rebates and relaxed regulations.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Unlike communism and other authoritarian systems of government, democratic socialists believe in democracy.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There’s often some kind of hitch, but still, most agents are straight arrows who play by the book.—
LEW SICHELMAN,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2025
-
Purdy was such a straight arrow as a kid, his worst transgressions were playing doorbell ditch, Patchett said.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
The Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
Comparable in size to the Arc de Triomphe, the Porte Monumentale also contained surface ornamentation based on Haeckel’s exacting lifelong documentation of organisms to be found in the world’s oceans.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
These methods, while less exacting, are also woefully undemocratic, allowing lawmakers to act independently from and against the interests of the American public.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Over the past two years, his parents led an unrelenting campaign to bring their son home.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
-
More consistently than any other character, Ray embodies the unrelenting pessimism of noir — your daddy’s a good man, Francis, but evil triumphs, even when good men do something.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The attorney general was adamant that if Running Fence broke the law, workers would be arrested and jailed, and contractors would lose their licenses.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Lownie is adamant that their friendship dates back to 1991.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Pärt, who has apparently retired from creative work, offers an output that is far more complex and contradictory than his monkish public image suggests.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Integral, too, to Dayal’s mythology was his monkish existence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ascetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ascetic. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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